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About Last Night

Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

Charity Tillemann-Dick, R.I.P.

April 23, 2019 by Terry Teachout

Charity Tillemann-Dick, a coloratura soprano who suffered from pulmonary hypertension (the same rare disease that afflicts Mrs. T) and who resumed her singing career after undergoing a double lung transplant—the first of two—died this morning. In 2017 she published a memoir, The Encore, and I wrote about it at length in my Wall Street Journal “Sightings” column:

I vaguely recalled having read about her horrific experiences, but knew nothing of the details. Now I know all about them, and I find myself in awe of her, not just because of her indomitable determination but because it turns out that in addition to being an excellent singer, Ms. Tillemann-Dick is also a very fine writer. “The Encore” is one of the best books I’ve ever read about the effects of chronic illness on the human spirit. Most of us, I suspect, like to think that we’d rise to a difficult occasion if forced to do so, but rarely are we put to the test. Ms. Tillemann-Dick was, and she faced it with a courage that I can scarcely begin to fathom.

Ms. Tillemann-Dick was diagnosed in 2004 with pulmonary hypertension, an extremely rare and devastating disease of the lungs. A 20-year-old music student, she’d set her sights on an operatic career, and she had every reason to believe that her dream would come true. Instead, her doctor told her to stop singing at once, warning her that “those high notes are going to kill you.” PH, as it’s known to those who have it, is debilitating, incurable and, if left untreated, fatal. But she refused to give up, telling herself, “I just want to live—really live—for as long as I have left.”

A second, more enlightened specialist encouraged her to keep on singing, and she continued to study and perform for as long as her waning health permitted. Palliative treatments kept her going until 2009, when it finally became clear—as is always the case with end-stage PH—that the only thing that would save her life was a double-lung transplant. Fortunately, she survived the painful operation, and to the amazement of her doctors, she started singing in public again a year later, something that no one but Mrs. Tillemann-Dick had thought possible….

Our hearts go out to Yonatan Doran, Charity’s husband. May he find comfort in the knowledge that her life was a blessing and an inspiration.

One last thing: if you haven’t signed up to be an organ donor, please do so now, and encourage your friends to do likewise. Charity’s life was lengthened to noble effect because two people who never knew her did so.

*  *  *

A 2011 TED talk by Charity Tillemann-Dick: 

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Terry Teachout

Terry Teachout, who writes this blog, is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. In addition to his Wall Street Journal drama column and his monthly essays … [Read More...]

About

About “About Last Night”

This is a blog about the arts in New York City and the rest of America, written by Terry Teachout. Terry is a critic, biographer, playwright, director, librettist, recovering musician, and inveterate blogger. In addition to theater, he writes here and elsewhere about all of the other arts--books, … [Read More...]

About My Plays and Opera Libretti

Billy and Me, my second play, received its world premiere on December 8, 2017, at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, Fla. Satchmo at the Waldorf, my first play, closed off Broadway at the Westside Theatre on June 29, 2014, after 18 previews and 136 performances. That production was directed … [Read More...]

About My Podcast

Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I are the panelists on “Three on the Aisle,” a bimonthly podcast from New York about theater in America. … [Read More...]

About My Books

My latest book is Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, published in 2013 by Gotham Books in the U.S. and the Robson Press in England and now available in paperback. I have also written biographies of Louis Armstrong, George Balanchine, and H.L. Mencken, as well as a volume of my collected essays called A … [Read More...]

The Long Goodbye

To read all three installments of "The Long Goodbye," a multi-part posting about the experience of watching a parent die, go here. … [Read More...]

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